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“They came back crying and said they were no longer allowed to play with us… They said there was something about you being Jewish.”
Holocaust survivor Peter Summerfield BEM shares a heartbreaking childhood memory from 1930s Berlin, illustrating how anti-Jewish prejudice tore apart innocent childhood friendships.
He recalls the sudden shift when his regular playmates, the building caretaker’s young sons were forbidden from seeing him simply because he was Jewish. Even as the caretaker expressed his helpless regret, the pervasive fear of being sent to a concentration camp meant neighbours were terrified to disobey Nazi orders, leaving a young Peter isolated in his own home.
Gabriele was born in Vienna in 1926.
Her mother was Christian but she was unaware that her father was Jewish until she was forced to leave her convent school and wear a yellow star. She never saw her father again after Kristallnacht. Her grandmother made arrangements for her to leave Austria on the Kindertransport. She studied at teacher training college, and later became headmistress of a school in her home town of Newcastle. She married and had children who often returned with her to visit her grandmother in Vienna. Gabriele was appointed BEM for services to Holocaust education.
Read Gabriele’s fully story in the My Story section on the AJR website.
“She described herself as looking like a scarcely living, pregnant skeleton.”
Eva Clarke, nee Eva Nathan, was born on the 29th of April 1945 in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, five days before the liberation of the camps by the American army. Eva shares how a gesture of kindness saved her mother’s life. Trapped on an open coal train for 17 days without food or water, her nine-month-pregnant mother was spotted by a local farmer.
Born in Sosnowiec, Poland, in 1927, Harry Olmer MBE survived multiple Nazi forced-labour and concentration camps during the Holocaust, including Płaszów, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Buchenwald, Schlieben, and Terezín.
After being liberated in May 1945, he came to the UK as one of “The Boys”—a group of young child survivors brought to Windermere in the Lake District to rehabilitate and rebuild their lives. He went on to learn English, qualify as a dentist, and dedicate decades of his life to Holocaust education.
Today, his granddaughter, Chloe Kaye, keeps his legacy alive by sharing his story, ensuring the experiences and resilience of survivors are never forgotten by future generations.
In August 1945, 300 child survivors of the Holocaust flew from Prague to Britain to begin a new chapter.
Brought to the Lake District as part of a pioneering rescue and rehabilitation scheme organized by the Central British Fund, these children found a place of safety at Calgarth Estate near Windermere.
There, they received medical care, education, and emotional support to help them heal from unimaginable trauma, laying the groundwork to rebuild their lives, form families, and contribute to a brighter future.
“It’s much more than just the AJR corporate newsletter.”
Jo Briggs, Editor of the AJR Journal, reflects on what makes the publication so unique. While many archives document Holocaust testimonies, the AJR Journal offers something rare: the ongoing story of what survivors and refugees brought to the UK, their contributions, gratitude, and resilience.
It’s not just Jewish community history, it’s a vital part of British history. 🇬🇧
“Wales is part of my history as well.”
Second-generation Holocaust survivor Ruth Evans shares her family’s story and reconnects with her roots.
Ruth’s father arrived in London from Vienna on the Kindertransport in January 1939 at just 15 years old, following his mother, who had managed to come ahead as a domestic servant. After time in Swanage and internment on the Isle of Man, he eventually met Ruth’s mother in Cardiff.
Revisiting the site of her family’s original costume jewellery business, Ruth reflects on how her family’s journey from Vienna became interwoven with Welsh history.
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) is deeply saddened by the passing of long-standing member Harry Heber MBE, a Kindertransport refugee who devoted much of his life to helping others.
Harry arrived in Britain from Innsbruck, Austria, aged seven, together with his older sister Ruth, following Kristallnacht in November 1938. Separated during their journey, the siblings were eventually reunited with their parents in Britain shortly before the outbreak of war.
Harry went on to become an optician and, following his retirement, established an optical project providing spectacles to people in need around the world. He remained deeply connected to his Kindertransport experience and to the AJR community throughout his life.
In 2016, Harry and Ruth returned to Harwich together, 77 years after their arrival in Britain as Kindertransport refugees.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ruth and to Harry’s family and friends. Like man of the refugees he gave back to others less fortunate. We will remember him with great affection.”
